Newsletter 'May' 2019

Sharon introduced Maureen Pow, a long-time resident of Woodstock who will celebrate her 60th wedding   anniversary this summer and who has 11 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter. She decided to tell her story in the form of answers to questions that she has been asked by her grandchildren.

Q1. What are some of your memories of Scotland in the 40s?  Maureen remembers having 3 evacuee children from Edinburgh living with her family during the war years; she remembers the air raid shelter in the garden, rationing, listening to Churchill on the radio, the big party when her uncle returned from the war in North Africa and the gas masks children had to carry to school – hers looked like Mickey Mouse.

Q2. What were your favorite toys? A toy hospital made from cardboard boxes which had electric lights and beds made from match boxes.

Q3. Who influenced you most growing up? Her parents and teachers, but especially her grandfather who took her fly fishing and instilled a love of reading in her.

Q4. When did you arrive in Canada? Maureen’s family arrived in June of 1947. They flew via Iceland and Maureen remembers her first impression was of vast empty landscapes seen when flying over Labrador. They lived in Toronto for 5 years before settling in Woodstock.

Q5. What were your first jobs and how much did you earn? The first job was babysitting for 25 cents an hour. Then came strawberry picking with memories of kids piled into the back of a pick-up truck. After grade 10 Maureen filed at Simpson’s, then worked for 3 weeks in a gin factory earning 75 cents an hour.

Q6. When did you start to go with Grandpa? They met in 1953 at WCI on the bus going to a football game in Stratford and then at the tea dance after the game.

Q7. What were some of your jobs? Maureen taught Grade 5 in Kingston, learned bookkeeping after her marriage and the birth of their 4 children, trained as a “Colours” consultant, taught ESL to immigrants in classes at the YMCA in the late 80s and loved that job most of all.

Q8. What have your favorite trips been? Maureen enjoys going back to Scotland. She also particularly enjoyed a trip in 2003 to Churchill Manitoba to see the polar bears.

Q9. What advice do you have for growing up in the 21st century? Maureen advises her grandchildren to do something they love, to be empathetic, to set aside time for themselves and to look after the planet.

  Geri introduced Robbie Donaldson, a chaplain with the local Salvation Army. He was accompanied by Naomi, who works with him in some of the social programs offered in Woodstock. 

Mr. Donaldson started by giving us a bit of his background. Four years ago he was in a very bad place and was                      sent to the Salvation Army for counselling. This turned his life around and he then pursued the necessary education to become a chaplain with the Army. He provided a brief history of the Salvation Army. It was founded by William and Katherine Booth in 1865. The initial purpose was to provide soup, soap and salvation on the streets of London, England. This eventually led to them starting their own worship services. It was originally called the Volunteer Army. It came to Halifax in 1870, London Ontario in 1882 and has now been in Woodstock since 1884. The Salvation Army is in 131 countries world-wide.

A major part of the work they do is the Thrift Store and Family Services, now housed in the same building on Huron St. Here they offer bread products to about 100 clients daily, and they assist 10 clients daily in other ways. They also currently provide housing for up to 5 families, in places they can stay for up to 6 weeks, until they can secure their own housing. The philosophy at the store is “Sit a While” and all employees are trained to talk to clients who need a listening ear. Staff is also trained to use Nalaxone kits, to administer first aid and to deal with mental health issues. He provided us with some information about the Thrift Store: they give work to WDDS clients; they use volunteers for sorting, pricing stocking shelves and cashiering; re-cycled metal that comes in is sprayed orange before it is further recycled to deter theft; clothes that can’t be sold are recycled and earn them about 8 cents per pound – you can donate clothes that fall into this category by putting them in a bag labelled ‘for recycling’; they do not accept entertainment centres as they are too large for today’s living style; he also cautioned us to not donate outside of donation hours – this creates a mess outside the store and often leads to increased waste management charges. 

The Salvation Army band, a familiar site at events and in parades, started with a family of brothers in England. They wore their military uniforms and brought their brass instruments to open air meetings. It has evolved from this but one thing hasn’t changed – they still use English style instruments, such as a cornet and not a trumpet. The bandmaster in Woodstock, Jim Gordon, has served here for 55 years.